


To Let Him Go

by Tiger_Lilly13



Series: Elisa and The Asset [2]
Category: The Shape of Water (2017)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Romance, Smut, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-07 03:20:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14071800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiger_Lilly13/pseuds/Tiger_Lilly13
Summary: All Elisa wants to do is go home and be with her new lover, but her racing thoughts and heavy heart causes her to question her own involvement in the asset's life.





	To Let Him Go

**Author's Note:**

> Here is another erotic story with my favorite fishy couple! The plot did get away from me a bit, it does get rather smutty as warned before, and some angst popped up too. I feel like I should really warn about the level of sad that it gets to, lol. Enjoy!

As the morning sun rises over the sky lines of the city of Baltimore, Elisa drags her sore feet up the metal stairs to her tiny apartment above the theater. The streets are starting to buzz with activity from the morning commuters and Elisa wants to avoid all the traffic before it gets too crowded.

She is exhausted. Strickland has been running her and the staff ragged since the asset went missing – _was freed_ she thinks with a smirk. With interrogations, extra security, and the overall stifling atmosphere at Occam, it has put a lot of pressure on them all, and in a way, she does feel a bit guilty about making everyone’s jobs harder, because it is her fault, but she would have done the same thing if presented with the chance to save _him_. But the worst of all the chaos in the facility, is Strickland.

She doesn’t like the way he looks at her, like some kind of side show anomaly. She should be used to those kinds of judgmental stares by now, but it makes her skin crawl when she looks up to see him watching her with an evil glint in his sunken eyes. She has not forgotten how he had tried to corner her in his office and touch her and she admits that she was terrified at the time, but now she doesn’t shy away from his malicious glares and she lets her hatred for him fortify her resolve. All she has to do is think back to what she witnessed him doing to her lover, and it reinforces her strength against him, not letting herself cower in fear of his perverse attempts to frighten her.

She had a passing thought that she is thankful that the asset never saw any of Strickland’s unwanted advances towards her. Her, recent, lover would have certainly torn the man in half given the opportunity. Although as satisfying as that little fantasy is, she will keep it to herself. She would never want to put him in danger under any circumstance.

The one good thing about her shift tonight though, was explaining to Zelda how she and the asset made love for the first time. She wasn’t exactly planning on telling her, but the huge grin that kept creeping back onto her face with her memories of the previous day’s events wouldn’t stop no matter how hard she tried to keep it at bay. And of course Zelda noticed.

Zelda had leaned in closer to her with a lifted eye brow after Elisa showed her how _his_ manhood had…made itself known, “So, he’s got the equipment, but did he know how to use it?” 

Elisa blushed at the question and pushed her dark hair behind her ear shyly. She bit her lip, looked around them to make sure there are no prying eyes and signed with a smirk, _“I’m surprised I can walk straight.”_ And it was true. She could still feel him between her legs.

Zelda’s mouth hung open at her friend’s shameless admission and she nudged Elisa again with a mischievous smile. “Girl, you best keep a close eye on your man now that you know what he’s got hidden down there.”

Elisa was going to say something snarky back to her but at that moment, Mr. Fleming passed by them and made a ‘cut the chatter’ gesture to them while scurrying down the hall like a frightened rat. She is surprised Zelda has kept this job as long as she has with how many times he reprimands her for idly gossiping. They returned to work immediately, but Zelda would wiggle her eye brows at Elisa every once in a while, making her cheeks turn beet red each time and her smile to beam uncontrollably.

Zelda’s teasing helped Elisa be able to forget about her burdens and Strickland’s wandering eyes by the constant reminders of her lover. With all the stress and the harsh gravity of her situation, knowing that **he** was waiting for her at home, safe under Giles’s care and away from this wretched place, eased her mind and let her push through her responsibilities quickly and efficiently. She found herself thinking of him all night, his webbed hands holding her hips down against him, his tongue sliding on her collar bone, and his cool scales pressed against her breasts. She had shivered just thinking about it.

Her thoughts always drifted back to earlier that evening, her alarm clock barely waking her up at 10:30pm from the other room. She must have fallen asleep on his chest after their morning of passion and he had held her the whole day. He had grumbled sleepily, nuzzled his face further into her neck and squeezed her, trying to shield her from the irritating noise. When she tried to get up to turn off her alarm, he just held her tighter and shifted so that she was more toward the wall. She huffed a silent snicker at his protective behavior, but her alarm was starting to get annoying and the water in the bath was freezing and it needed to be refilled again.

Eventually, with a bit of a half-hearted struggle, she was able to escape his iron grip, but he grabbed onto her hand with a trilling whine, blinking drowsily at her as she tried to leave. She smiled and leaned down to give him a soft kiss to satisfy him enough to let her go, causing his lights to flare up like sparkling sapphires and he purred happily as she left the room to prepare for the night shift.

She didn’t want to leave him and he wasn’t happy when she was trying to, his large eyes full of sadness, trilling and chirping for her to stay, but she had to go. She had to keep up appearances at the facility and act like nothing has changed. Plus, she couldn’t afford to leave her job just to stay with him, even though she desperately wanted to. She was barely making enough to get by as it was and now that she had him to take care of, her job was even more crucial.

Elisa enters her apartment, not needing to unlock the door because Giles is watching over him while she was at work. Her heels click on the warn wood as she hears water sloshing in the bathroom. She sees her friend exit the room with a smile and she returns it. As tired and stressed out as she is, she is always happy to see him. She gives him a small hug when he steps close enough.

She leans back and looks up at him signing, _“how is he?”_

Giles nods his head a few times, “Fine, fine. Doing fine. Let him walk around a bit, get some exercise.” He lets go of her with a question in his eyes, “You know, he seems a bit more restless than usual.” His brows furrow at her, “Did something happen between you two yesterday?”

Elisa just shrugs innocently as she did with Zelda, not quite ready to tell him about it which gets her an unconvinced, “Uh huh.” from Giles. She lays her hand on his arm signing, _“How are you?”_ trying to change the topic away from her intimate movements with the asset.

He drops the subject, thankfully, and pats her hand, “Don’t you worry about me. He’s not much of a conversationalist but good thing I’m already used to that.” She grins at his good natured jabbing and moves to put her coat and hat away.

When she turns back to him she asks, _“Did he eat?”_

Giles stretches as he answers, “Yeah. He wasn’t too thrilled about it since you weren’t here. But with some encouragement, got him to choke down some eggs and a herring.”

She nods her head in acknowledgement and rubs her eyes roughly. Her mind inadvertently drifts back to some of the times she saw Dr. Hoffstetler, or Dmitri as she now knows him, and the other scientists feeding him like some kind of dangerous animal or an exotic pet. He is clearly a hunter, and as necessary as it is, she feels ashamed that she is basically having to do the same thing to him. She must look more ragged than usual because when she lowers her hands, Giles tilts his head in concern, looking thoughtful, “You okay, honey?”

She sighs heavily and brings her fingers to her chest then drops her arms signing, _“Just tired.”_

He thins his lips in a tight smile, but resigns from pressing her further about it, which she appreciates. “Allright.” He concedes. He takes a deep breath and then says while gesturing to the bathroom, “Well, he’s waiting for you. Best go see him before he tears the place apart looking for you.” She giggles silently at his teasing, although there is probably some truth in that statement, “I’m gunna get some shut-eye.”

As Giles opens the door, Elisa stops him with a hand on his arm before he can leave. He turns to her in question and it’s times like these she wishes that she could speak. This selfless, sweet, genuine man has been her friend ever since he generously offered her an umbrella and a ride to her interview at Occam. This man who had taken the time to learn sign language so that she can communicate with him and befriended her even though she couldn’t speak. This man who helped her rescue the love of her life with no thought for his own wellbeing. There is so much she wants to say to him, so much she wants to tell him, to express how much he means to her, but all she can do is sign, _“Thank you.”_ and hope that he understands that this is so much more than a mere thanks.

His features soften when he realizes the sincerity in her eyes. He cups her face with a gentle smile and pats her cheek lightly, “You kids have fun.” He turns on his heels and walks to his door, closing it behind him with a sift click.

Elisa closes her own door with a sigh, leaning her head against it for a moment. She feels almost nervous, butterflies fluttering in her stomach and her heart racing inside her chest. She is excited to see him, but she doesn’t want her stress and worry from their situation to come between them. With how the night has gone, all she wants to do is just snuggle up with him in the bath and not leave his side for the rest of the day. At least she doesn’t have to work for the next two days and she plans on spending every waking moment with him.

She pulls what little strength she has left after this trying and difficult night and moves to the bathroom where he is waiting for her. She peeks her head in and sees him sitting up straight up, his wide eyes glued to the door. When he spots her, he lets out a series of yaps and chirps while signing _Hello Elisa!_ excitedly. Her heart wants to leap out of her chest and she can’t help the giant grin when she walks over to him as he goes to grip the edges of the tub to greet her, but she stops him with a hand on his bicep. She gently pushes him back into the tub and he does so willingly. When she cups his face with her palm, he lays his own hand on hers and nuzzles into it with a purring rumble and a loving blink. She signs _“wait”_ to him and then leaves the room as he yaps irritably at her quick departure. She goes to put her shoes away on the wall and remove her clothes hurriedly, slipping on her robe for a small semblance of modesty.

Which is ridiculous, because when she returns to him, she drops her remaining clothes on the floor. She does not make as much of a show as she did yesterday, but he chirps appreciably; letting his eyes wander her naked body for a moment, then flick back up to her face. He lowers his head with a purring growl, but stays put in the bath just like she asked him.

When Elisa slips in the bath, using his outstretched hand to help her balance, the water is warm and the algae is fresh. Giles must have changed it out before she arrived home, and she is thankful for that. She sits with her back to him between his legs and leans back against his chest with a content sigh. He automatically wraps his arms around her, trilling a purr of approval and squeezing her to him while nuzzling her neck with his face eagerly. She lays her hands on his strong arms and nestles back into him, rubbing up and down his scaly skin. She missed this, she missed him.

Elisa reaches for his right hand and brings it in front of her, his other arm holding her midsection tight to his body. He lets her examine his hand as she uses her finger tips to travel down his long, intricately colored fingers, through his almost translucent webbing, and over his sharp, black claws. She turns his hand over and lays her own palm on his, huffing a soundless laugh as she sees how much bigger he is than her. They are so different, yet fit together so perfectly. Their differences inadvertently carries another thought to the forefront, a thought she has tried to bury for the time being, but soon won’t be able to hide from.

She looks down at his long legs, bent uncomfortably because of how small a space he has and she frowns. He doesn’t have the wide open waters that he is used to, doesn’t have his own kind, if there are any. He doesn’t have the food he’s used to, the environment he can thrive in. She may have saved him from Strickland’s abuse and certain death, but keeping him here with her, is purely selfish. _Maybe he’s not so free,_ she reflects to herself.

And yet, he hasn’t complained once. He hasn’t tried to escape or make any inclination that he wants to leave and go back to his home that he was stolen from. Even after the incident with Pandora, he didn’t wander far and when she found him downstairs in the theater, he came back with her willingly. But she knows that she will have to let him go in less than a week when the rains come, and as heartbroken as she is about that fact, she will. For him.

A tear escapes her eye unintentionally and she turns her head away from him, trying to hide it, but he is so in tuned with her emotions, especially after connecting so intimately yesterday, that he senses her grief in an instant. He nudges his nose against her cheek with an insistent trill so that she will turn her face towards him, his hand that she was just inspecting laying back down against her stomach. She reluctantly does so and he sees the tear running down her cheek. He leans forward and licks the salty liquid off her skin, making her let out a silent laugh. He blinks at her, his eyes full of concern as he rumbles in his chest.

She shakes her head slightly with a sad smile. He softly chirps to her and she understands he is asking her what is wrong. Not wanting to sour his mood with her worrying, she distracts him by reaching behind his head with her left arm, mindful of his fluttering gills, and pulls him down to place a soft kiss on his lips. His eyes close and he purrs happily and Elisa decides at that moment to do something a bit different today.

She brazenly opens her mouth and flicks her tongue against his lips and he jolts slightly with a yip at the unusual feeling, opening his eyes to the new sensation. She smirks coyly at him and does it again. On the second swipe, he lets out a trilling moan, his eyes fluttering closed as he presses his mouth against her again. _So he likes it?_ She thinks with a silent giggle. He holds her tighter to him and presses his lips to hers, opening his mouth. He tentatively lets his tongue touch with hers, making her sigh in both relief that he wants more and the desire to give it to him. She accepts him eagerly, their tongues messaging each other’s in their newly found expression of love and affection. His appendage is a bit rougher than her own, but it’s long and flexible, and it gives her other wicked ideas about some of the things she can teach him. Only if he wants to, of course.

As she lets him explore her mouth to his heart’s content, her free hand not holding onto the back of his neck slides up and down his thigh, using her nails to slightly scratch him, causing his lights to flare underneath her fingertips. He growls low in his throat and Elisa feels the plates on his groin that is pressed up against her lower back shift open slightly, the wet tip of his hidden member barely grazing her.

She rolls her hips back against him, trying to coax his emerging cock the rest of the way out, causing him to press his pelvis harder into her. His arm releases her to rub her abdomen and travel up to her breast. He palms her flesh and rakes his claw across her nipple gently, causing her to jerk her rear back into him with a gasp. His cock descends slowly, sliding upward and she can feel his natural lubricant slicking up her back even under the water.

When he is fully unsheathed and erect behind her, Elisa lifts herself so that her legs are on the outside of his and his cock can be in front of her, lying stiff against her center as his hands come down to palm the inside of her thighs with a purring moan. He slides his left hand up to grip her waist as his other moves to his cock that is pressed on her excited clit. He takes his own member in his grip and strokes it twice with a huff against her neck before rubbing her sensitive pearl with his hardened length. The knowledge, since they are submerged in the murky water from the waist down, that he is using his own hand to pump his cock and pleasure her and himself with it causes her to exhale sharply and roll her swollen clit against his eager member.

Elisa uses her hand to take his away from his erection and sets it on her hip. She takes his cock in hand, rubbing herself with his pulsing length, his grip tightening on her as he nuzzles the side of her neck with a constant growling purr. She teases him, stroking him up and down her heated core, his ridges and bumps grinding against her little clit making her breath shallow and her head feel fuzzy. Every time she goes to slip his tip inside her hot entrance, she pulls him away to continue their sweet torture.

She bits her lip and laughs silently at his frustrated whine and nip on her shoulder in reprimand when she does this for the third time, and decides that it is enough teasing for now. She doesn’t know if he would get exasperated enough just to lift her up and impale her on his cock. While the thought of him being desperate enough for her that he would do it causes her clit to throb and her pussy to clench around nothing, with his size and only making love the one time, they need to go slowly and carefully. Her own body aches for him, her pussy empty and eager for him to fill her and she does not want to spend another second without him inside her.

She finally lifts and angles herself, letting the tip of him slip inside her soaked cunt. She has to work his cock up and down slowly to fit him, although not as leisurely as the first time. He growls a moan as her mouth hangs open when her hips are flush against his, the burning stretch fading quicker to overwhelming pleasure. If this is how it’s going to feel every time they make love, she is going to be exhausted when she goes back to work in a few days from no sleep.

Elisa takes a moment to breathe and adjust to his size, and he strokes his hands up and down her waist patiently like he did before, crooning loving chirps to her until she is ready. She smiles internally at his thoughtfulness, always thinking of her comfort first before his own pleasure. When she feels she is ready, she clenches her muscles experimentally around him and leans her head back against his chest; giving him the signal that she is okay for him to start moving. He grips her hips with a growl and lifts her up and down his cock gently, letting out harsh breaths when she becomes flush with his hips again. His feet have braced on the end of the tub to give him more leverage to thrust up into her. The way their legs are rearranged in the bath makes it difficult for her to move and she can’t spread her legs as much as she would like, but he seems to know that she needs for him to take control of her, to relieve the pressure and the stress from her racing thoughts.

He lowers his face where her shoulder meets her neck as he pumps into her steadily, mouthing at her heated skin and letting his rough tongue sweep across her sensitive flesh making her shiver. She tilts her head to the side, silently begging for more of his lips. She trails her hands down her body under the water to the place where he is moving inside her. She feels around his thick cock as it glides in and out of her, then moves up to rub her clit back and forth vigorously, her walls clutching around his pumping length. He groans, but continues to thrust inside her, panting against her neck harshly.

He abruptly moves his hand down her right thigh, and then under it to pull her leg to her chest out of the water, opening her up more for him to get deeper inside her, causing her to gasp loudly and dig her nails into his scaly leg. He grabs her hand that is clenched into a first on his leg, unable to entwine them because of his webbing, and brings it up between her breasts and holds her close to his plated chest.

Elisa feels her orgasm approaching quickly, creeping up on her like a silent wave of indescribable ecstasy. His thrusts have become rougher and longer, pulling his cock all the way out before thrusting his entire length inside her. His firm grip under her thigh grows tighter, his claws digging into her flesh as his purring growls grow louder. She recognizes his vocalizations from their first time. He’s as close to that razor edge as she is and she doesn’t try to stop the overpowering force of it. Her clit is pulsing in time with her heart, her walls begin to flutter around him uncontrollably, constricting tighter and tighter until she is hurled over the edge of the cliff with a deep, hard thrust of his throbbing cock.

She arches her back as her eyes squeeze shut, her breath seizing in her chest. She wishes she could scream that she loves him, that she never wants him to leave, that she would do anything just to be with him, even risk her very life, but all she can do is hold onto him and ride out the waves, twitches and spasms of her earth shattering orgasm. Her quivering walls massage and milk his cock and drags him over the edge with her.

A loud, trilling groan leaves his chest, and he lets go of her thigh to snake his hand under her leg, keeping her open and pressing on her lower belly, holding himself deep inside her while his clawed hand in her grasp squeezes her own. She closes her eyes against the bright flash of his cobalt bioluminescent glow with a dreamy sigh and a small smile, feeling his warm seed filling her, the fleshy base of him expanding and swelling inside her as his muscles flex with every pump and twitch of his cock within her. His open mouth is lying against her neck, his fangs scraping her sensitive skin and Elisa has a strong, primal desire for him to sink his teeth into her flesh and bite her, mark her and make her his forever.

After a tense moment of blinding pleasure for them both, he moves his arm so that she can lay her leg down on the outside of his again comfortable, and rests his own hand on her lower abdomen as she still feels his cock twitching and jumping occasionally. He gently licks the three scars on her neck and Elisa has a passing thought as to why he is so curious about them. He drags his tongue toward her cheek and lays a kiss on her flushed skin. He rumbles deep in his chest to her, taking his hand from her grasp between her breasts, and turns her to head to face him. He lays his lips on hers in a gentle kiss, and she eagerly reciprocates, raising the hand he abandoned to grip the back of his neck and deepen the kiss with her tongue and entwines her other hand as best as she can with his own that is lying flat against her belly, much to his delighted purring trill. 

Her previous worries and fears make an unwanted appearance again in her heart and mind as she pours out her love for him through their passionate kiss. A lump forms in her throat as she imagines her life without him. Without his big, beautiful eyes, without his sweet noises of joy whenever they are together, without his gentle touch, without his soft lips. She doesn’t know if she will be able to go back to the way things were before he came into her mundane life. He makes her feel so happy and loved and cherished, and knowing that soon she will have to set him free and be without him forever? Her eyes begin to sting, her chest constricting trying to suffocate her. She presses their lips firmer together, tightening her grip on the back of his neck with a trembling breath as if he could be violently ripped from her arms at any minute and he, perceiving her grief, embraces her harder with a deep, comforting purr in return.

Elisa is scared. Scared of what will happen to him. Scared of what will happen to her. But what frightens her the most, is that she doesn’t know if she will have the strength to let him go.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah...it kinda got sad there at the end, but other than that, whatcha think?! Don't worry, the next two are going to be purely smut ;)
> 
> I plan on posting a new one every Friday. I just love these two so much! <3


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